Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN) Short Interest Down 19.1% in January

Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN) was the target of a large drop in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 320,400 shares, a drop of 19.1% from the December 31st total of 396,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 163,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Willdan Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:WLDN opened at $36.40 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $39.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The company has a market cap of $513.97 million, a P/E ratio of 22.33 and a beta of 1.38. Willdan Group has a one year low of $18.37 and a one year high of $50.00.

Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The construction company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $158.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $141.70 million. Willdan Group had a return on equity of 13.84% and a net margin of 3.97%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.30 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Willdan Group will post 1.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WLDN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $51.00 target price on shares of Willdan Group in a research note on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Willdan Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Creighton K. Early sold 4,349 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total transaction of $187,572.37. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 69,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,982,266.98. The trade was a 5.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas Donald Brisbin sold 7,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.69, for a total transaction of $321,013.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 422,104 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,597,515.76. The trade was a 1.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,787 shares of company stock worth $936,061. 9.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Willdan Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new position in Willdan Group in the third quarter valued at about $15,608,000. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new stake in Willdan Group in the third quarter worth approximately $351,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Willdan Group by 0.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 294,797 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $12,075,000 after acquiring an additional 1,514 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Willdan Group by 28.9% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 54,902 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,248,000 after acquiring an additional 12,304 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Willdan Group by 82.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 76,586 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,136,000 after acquiring an additional 34,699 shares during the period. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Willdan Group Company Profile

Willdan Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides professional, technical, and consulting services primarily in the United States. It operates in two segments, Energy, and Engineering and Consulting. The Energy segment offers comprehensive audit and surveys, program design and implementation, master planning, demand reduction, grid optimization, benchmarking analyses, design engineering, construction management, performance contracting, installation, alternative financing, measurement and verification services, and software and data analytics, as well as energy consulting and engineering, turnkey facility and infrastructure projects, and customer support services.